Dubai summer with 1 year old; planning ahead | ExpatWoman.com
 

Dubai summer with 1 year old; planning ahead

332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 15 February 2012 - 15:55

Hi Ladies

It's likely we will be here the whole of summer. DD will be 1 at the end of June. She currently LOVES going to the park and playing with other kiddies. Hubby and I work full time and we have a live out maid.

I'm really worried about what to do when summer comes. Currently DD visits the park 4 times a day (it's around the corner, we live in the Springs). With outings to the park being near impossible during the heat, could you recommend activities that we can arrange indoors or places we can take DD (not the mall!) to keep her stimulated?

I was thinking of enrolling her in a nursery for a two half days a week but there don't appear to be any near the Springs and it would otherwise require the nanny picking DD up in a taxi.

I know summer is a few months away but I'm feeling very anxious. We're new to parenting so any tips would be appreciated!

TIA

784
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EW GURU
Latest post on 01 May 2012 - 21:32
Oh Green-ish, thank you for your list. Will add those to my to do daily things with DD too!
357
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 01 May 2012 - 20:28
Get a group of you and arrange weekly/twice weekly outings to a play area, Lamcy (though a wee bit grubby) has ace play areas for all ages up to about 7 and is soooo big so they can burn off all their energy in the summer, a cafe for the mums etc.
332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 01 May 2012 - 20:25
Hello, any other suggestions? Thanks a lot We bought a plastic outdoor pool (also good size for balcony) from ELC and she LOVES it. Otherwise I find that she really just enjoys being independent and playing with her little toys or zooming around in her baby walker at the moment ...
331
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 30 April 2012 - 13:50
Hello, any other suggestions? Thanks a lot
2340
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 16 February 2012 - 18:06
You're most welcome M. Apart from two very short breaks, we spent five summers in Dubai with at least one toddler in the family every year! I became a bit of a master at Summer Survival Skills on a Budget. ;) Another favourite was to fill a bucket with water, add food colouring and give the little ones a big paint brush. Painting the house is SO much fun. :D One of my friends had a wonderful idea...clear plastic shower curtains hung outside against a wall, somewhere shady. The children paint them with water based paints and make great big wall murals. When they are finished, hose it all off, ready to decorate another day. You can do the same on glass sliding doors.
332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 16 February 2012 - 16:42
Wow Green-ish! Impressive list, thanks so much for sharing these great ideas. I'll have to do some shopping that's for sure! Glenfiddich - thanks for the tips. I rang the nursery yesterday and they take babies from 18 months of age. I will definitely keep an eye on the notice boards at the shops. thanks!
332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 16 February 2012 - 16:42
Wow Green-ish! Impressive list, thanks so much for sharing these great ideas. I'll have to do some shopping that's for sure! Glenfiddich - thanks for the tips. I rang the nursery yesterday and they take babies from 18 months of age. I will definitely keep an eye on the notice boards at the shops. thanks!
510
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EW GURU
Latest post on 16 February 2012 - 13:29
Jebel Ali nursery inside the Hayya Club by the little spinney's in the Springs does a brilliant summer camp for little ones. The other nurseries in the springs (by the Choithrams and by Big Spinneys) will probably also do summer camps. Have faith, the details will come out closer to June. Also, there are several play groups run independently in the Springs - keep an eye out at the boards in Big Spinneys and contact them to see if any will keep going through the summer. <em>edited by glenfiddich on 16/02/2012</em>
2340
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 16 February 2012 - 12:27
Summer with the little ones is challenging, but lots of us have done it many times. :) Do you know of any other children near by who will also be home? Even a once-a-week outing to someone's home for a playdate breaks it all up. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to fill the day at that age. Just meal prep, eating and nap/s take up half the day so for the other few hours... - read stories - do simple puzzles - water play (paddling pool or in the bath)...play with different sized containers, filling and emptying them - playdough - painting...with brushes, finger-painting, hand and foot prints, potato or sponge prints - empty out a packet of cornflour, mix with a little water than spread random dots of food colouring...feels gorgeously cool & squishy and they love watching the colours change as they mix - blocks or Lego Duplo - play music and dance (Justine Clarke is fabulous for the little ones...her music DVD is great too) - give her little tasks to 'help' with the meal prep...she may eat more than she adds to the meal, but it helps develop her interest in healthy meals - get hold of some big boxes for her to hide in...throw a sheet over and she has an exciting cubby house - print out some big pictures of animals and she can visit a 'virtual zoo'...put the pictures up on a wall or fridge and she can 'visit' them all while practising their names and sounds (ETA: do the same with pictures of family members, flowers etc) - tape some materials of different texture onto the floor (preferably a rug or carpet)...she'll loves crawling and walking on them...some smooth, some crunchy (foil, cellophane, plastic etc), soft, rough etc etc - let her play with a set of brightly coloured flash cards...alphabet, numbers, shapes etc. So much to do, so few HOT months to do them in. ;) <em>edited by Green-ish on 16/02/2012</em>
 
 

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